The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints at Acrisure Stadium with the faintest of hopes on the line. For decades, the Steelers have made improbable comebacks seem routine and on Sunday we will see if the black and gold can keep hope alive until at least Thanksgiving.
Something radical has to happen to Pittsburgh's offense. The Steelers' rookie signal caller Kenny Pickett called out the entire team’s preparation prior to the bye week after an embarrassing loss 35-13 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Photo Credit: Steelers.com
“We need to study more,” Pickett vented to the media after the Eagles game. “I don’t think we study enough as a group.”
Pickett is the de facto leader of the offense and despite his attempt to motivate the group, he has enough going on with his own game to keep him busy. He is 1-3 as a starter, and that one win can arguably be attributed to a heroic performance by Mitch Trubisky in relief. He has thrown two touchdowns to eight interceptions and rushed for two additional touchdowns since he has taken the field.
Pickett was trying to step up but when you are not performing on a team that is struggling, teammates seldom listen. On Tuesday, Head Coach Mike Tomlin held his weekly press conference, and he was not endorsing his rookie quarterback’s point of view.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin gives instructions to his team during a 38-3 loss at Buffalo/ Photo Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
“I don’t know what he was referring to there,” Tomlin said. “I’m not going to try to add any color to an opinion. I believe our guy’s study at an appropriate level, and I’ve seen that continually through the process. I’m not going to add any color to an opinion that I’m not highly familiar with.”
Tomlin has a difficult job ahead and faces the steepest climb to fielding a competitive team in his career. The Steelers have been four games under .500 before but the offense had a Hall of Fame quarterback and was littered with All-Pro performers. The 2022 offense is unlikely to feature a Pro Bowl player at this point and Tomlin is not going to change his coaching philosophy or style because a rookie quarterback is complaining.
Matt Canada on Kenny Pickett saying the Steelers offensive players need to study more pic.twitter.com/WyURjd0stA
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 1, 2022
“Kenny, he is speaking for himself,” coordinator Matt Canada stated. “We gotta play better. We’ve gotta get things off tape. We can’t make the same mistakes over and over. I think that’s what he was probably speaking to.”
Matt Canada received support last week from several Steelers insiders that suggested that the play design was not responsible for the struggles of the offense. The consensus among those supporting Canada was that any additional studying requirements should be directed to Pickett himself.
Fans have all seen the diagrams. Short passes to the sidelines dominated the Steelers' passing charts under Trubisky, Pickett and even Ben Roethlisberger last season. It does not mean those are the only routes available to Pickett when he drops back to pass and it is up to him to find different places to throw.
Pat Freiermuth will be working in the areas where the departed, freakishly athletic Chase Claypool was running routes, and the change could be significant. Defenses should attempt to cover Freiermuth with linebackers and safeties. A safety blanket relationship between Pickett and Freiermuth could develop quickly.
Roethlisberger and Heath Miller developed a similar unspoken bond that became a significant weapon during the dynamic duo's long careers. Roethlisberger spoke about it on the recent Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast.
“If I was honestly to pick a Steeler,” Roethlisberger said in response to who his favorite receiver to throw to was. “I would probably say Heath Miller. He’s a good friend. He’s just one of the best teammates that I’ve ever been around. Just a solid salt of the earth kind of guy.”
Photo Credit: Jordan Schofield / Steeler Nation (Twitter JSKO_Photo)
Tomlin and the Pittsburgh front office have cleared the way for Pickett to begin to build that same bond with Freiermuth and if the offense starts to dramatically improve in the second half of the season, this pairing will likely be a significant key.
If Tomlin and Canada can make the rookie understand that the current offense can work, the Steelers could have a special second half in 2022. It also would mean despite the heavy criticism, the Steelers recognized a significant mismatch and moved the necessary chess pieces to exploit it.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Does Pickett have to look inward and accept the current coaching before he can criticize his teammates? Comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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